Posts Tagged ‘Evil Dead 2013 remake’

Via Eva Halloween I found the second red band trailer for the 2013 remake of Evil Dead. And I gotta admit, for someone who turns into Angry Old Fart way too many times for comfort when it comes to this phenomenon, the trailer looks great! They certainly didn’t skimp on the gore, there certainly are gonna be scenes at least as intense (and with a bit of luck even more) as the original, and even though I think some of the male characters, well, look like wimps, I’m waiting ’til I’ve seen it before I go whining about “bad casting”. Sure, the dub step music is a bit of a turn off, but I doubt today’s 18-year-olds are as big on The Ramones as me.

Now, I know there are some “original, real fans” out there – and just out of curiosity, how would you distinguish a “fake one”? – who sees it differently and sure are spending a lot of time grumbling and trolling about this, but c’mon, does this look like a cheap Hollywood knock-off to you? If the producers wanted to make a quick buck out of this franchise they would’ve gutted it completely! If you’re such a great fan (and have that much free time to spend), treat yourself to a game and pop in your original VHS while taking notes of all the commercial no-nos it offers. Remember that this was released unrated back in the 80s because the MPAA frankly wanted to pretty much neuter it, and when it was resubmitted in 1994 it received an NC-17 “for substantial graphic horror violence and gore.” Remove all that and what would you have left of the original concept? I’ll tell you: A bunch of stupid teenagers going to a remote cabin. The end.

Just like the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre or The Exorcist, what blew me away with Sam Raimi‘s horror debut was that it was just one long, uncompromising and exhaustingly horrific experience that just kept pummeling you silly for 90 minutes, and when it finally ended you were actually relieved it was over! Now, even though it offers spoilers Ain’t It Cool News offered a script analysis in February 2012 (check it out here, but as I said, there are spoilers) and sums it up “it reads like NC-17” and calls it a “beast” – not words commonly used when talking about anemic remakes, and pretty reaffirming if you ask me! If still in doubt we’ve got script writer Diablo Cody‘s making comments like it’s “unbelievably violent” and “It was really important again to the filmmakers that it remain totally grounded in reality and timeless. They weren’t trying to make some hip trendy horror movie full of pop culture references” (check that one out here) and you’ll at least know it looks killer on paper. And if nothing else they at least are trying to avoid the typical “ironic” approach so common in horror and remakes. Add the fact that ‘Mr. Groovy’ himself Bruce Campbell have offered statements reassuring fans that neither he, Sam, or Robert Tapert were out for a quick money grab – you really think they need it after the Spider-Man trilogy? – and that they have the highest confidence in both cast and director, well, I for one am pretty assured about the end results.

So, long story short, judging by the new snippets found in this compared to the first trailer I wrote about here, plus the additional arguments offered here, this looks even more like a highly intense remake that once again will scare the crap outta you. I mean, Tom Savini made a great remake of Night of the Living Dead, John Carpenter made a killer job with The Thing, and don’t forget David Cronenberg‘s amazing (and genuine reboot!) of The Fly, so the occasional good remake actually does happen. And to me this has so far the signs of actually being another one. My birthday is in April and I am so treating myself to a movie ticket!

Well, lo-fi audio be damned, the Evil Dead panel discussion at the New York Comic-Con was pretty funny and offered some nice extra info when it comes to the remake and the possibility of an Evil Dead 4. Joined by director Fede Alvarez and star Jane Levy, Bruce Campbell does what he does best hamming it up for the kids while offering up some nice one-liners and answers. And I gotta admit, judging by the audience reaction – that brings to mind a rock star entering the stage – how come this guy never became a household name? I’m amazed.